Circus
by momocandy
Summary: "Tokyo is like, the big daddy city of Japan. And girls like us, who have big ass secrets, don't go to big daddy cities, 'cause that's where rumors live and breath and travel, like, a hundred miles per hour." Five street girls start a new life at a prestigious dance academy. Of course, things get complicated. MxN with other pairings.
1. Departure

**Hello dear readers! Momocandy is back!**

**Final exams just finished for the semester, and my hard classes are all done, so I think I'll have more time to go on fanfiction now.**

**I'm publishing yet another new story! (Your Majesty was pretty awful now that I look back at it. I'm planning to discontinue that one.)**

**I will be updating my old stories ASAP though, so don't worry!**

**Happy reading! :D**

* * *

**Circus**

**by: momocandy**

**Chapter 1 - Departure**

**XXX**

_August 31, 2012_

It was nighttime in the city of Miyazaki, Japan.

Most of the metropolis was bright and alive, loud and obnoxious, pissing off the stars like usual.

But in a single apartment building on the outskirts of the metro, the lights were out—except for one tiny, illuminated window.

And you could hear the screaming from miles away

"Sumire, have you seen my stockings? I can't find them anywhere!"

"Anna, don't talk to me right now. Oh my god, WHERE ARE MY DAMN SWEATS?"

"AHHHH! MY STOCKINGS! Where in the world—Oh, Nonoko, Nonoko, have you seen them?"

"Nuh-uh, don't ask me."

In that one, small apartment room, all hell was being unleashed.

You could hardly see through the thick shower of clothes flying from the drawers, and there were already bunches littered all over the place, like dead bodies on a battlefield.

The source of the chaos—mainly a girl with permed green hair and _very_ little patience.

"MY SWEATS, MY SWEATS, WHY THE HELL CAN'T I FIND THEM?"

More flinging and more cursing and more clothes getting piled up on the floor.

"HEY, stop throwing my stuff, Sumi! I still need to pack—SUMIRE!" Nonoko shouted angrily, her long, navy-blue hair swinging as she tried to rescue her clothes from the growing rubble.

Anna's eyes suddenly widened.

"Sumire, stop, stop, STOP!"

The raging girl froze, one hand just about to chuck a lacy blue tank top, which Nonoko quickly snatched away.

"What?" She eyed the pinkette suspiciously.

Anna began rummaging hurriedly through a pile of clothes on the floor.

"Aha!" She jerked her hands up to reveal her discovery. "My stockings!"

Kissing them in joy, the pinkette bounced cheerfully over to her magenta suitcase and set them down neatly in the compartment, completely oblivious to the deathly glare that a certain jealous gal was sending her way.

Grumbling something under her breath, Sumire resumed her chaotic and fruitless searching, much to Nonoko's displeasure.

Meanwhile, standing off to the side, a brunette watched lazily as the hurricane of clothes started up again, skullcandy headphones over her ears and a swirly orange lollipop in her mouth.

"Should I go stop her?" She wondered out loud, looking at the black-haired girl next to her for an answer.

When the girl didn't reply, the brunette just shrugged and did nothing.

After a while, she glanced at the black-haired girl again, who was now silently folding a pair of sparkly indigo leg warmers into her violet suitcase.

"Hey, Hotaru...do you think we're doing the right thing?" she asked casually, taking the lolly out of her mouth.

There was a grunt of annoyance as the black-haired girl—Hotaru—zipped up the cover of her case and snapped the extra buckle shut.

"I'm not answering that, Mikan. It's the fifth time you've asked."

The brunette—Mikan—frowned.

"No...I only asked you four times," she counted on her fingers.

Hotaru just rolled her eyes and dragged her suitcase onto the floor.

"But seriously—" Mikan put the lolly back into her mouth. "—Tokyo is like, the big daddy city of Japan. And girls like us, who have big ass secrets, don't go to big daddy cities, 'cause that's where rumors live and breath and travel, like, a hundred miles per hour."

Hotaru showed no visible emotion on her pale face, but her deep amethyst eyes were somewhat incredulous.

"Last week you tried impersonating Spiderman and almost killed yourself when you barely made it to the ledge of the apartment roof."

Mikan cracked a smile at the memory.

"Two days ago you backflipped off the twenty-foot skate ramp."

Mikan nodded proudly. "I landed it too."

Hotaru ignored her and continued.

"Just yesterday you ate a moldy sandwich that's been in the fridge for two weeks and you_ will_ get diarrhea."

Mikan made a face. "No—"

"But _this—_" the girl emphasized. "—_this_ you've known for three whole months and you're chickening out now, at the last minute."

Mikan choked in dismay and pulled out her lolly defiantly.

"I am _not_ chickening out!"

Hotaru raised an eyebrow and the brunette crossed her arms.

"I am _not_ chickening out, okay! I'm _not_! Whoop, Tokyo, here I come!"

Hotaru sighed almost inaudibly.

"Just go get your goddamn suitcase."

Mikan grumbled one last "Mikan Sakura is _not_ a chicken" under her breath before she obediently stood and trudged over to her amber suitcase. She rustled through the contents one last time before zipping it up and lugging it back over to Hotaru.

_Mikan Sakura is not a chicken_, she repeated in her head. _Mikan Sakura is not a chicken_.

_But Miki Yukihira was._

Her hand lingered on the bronze plastic.

_Miki Yukihira doesn't exist anymore, _Mikan mentally smacked herself in frustration. _She's gone. She won't ever come back. Ever._

"I'm done," she told Hotaru. "...and I'll try my best."

Hotaru merely nodded as she watched the ruckus that still characterized the room, lips set into a thin impatient line.

"Hey, girls, done packing?" Mikan shouted over the noise.

"Uh, HELL NO!" Sumire replied furiously as she crawled under Anna's bed, groping around in the darkness for possible cloth, but getting only dust bunnies and other unidentifiable...stuff. "SOMEONE STOLE MY SWEATS!"

"_Nobody_ stole them, you moron! _You_ just lost them!" Nonoko growled in irritation, still salvaging whatever she could find and trying not to get buried alive.

"Calm down, you two! Stop fighting!" Anna, the pacifist, cried.

"Calm down?!" Nonoko exploded. "I'M. ALREADY. CALM! SHE'S THE ONE WHO NEEDS TO CALM DOWN!"

"WELL, EXCUSE ME? I'M MISSING MY SWEATS!" Sumire screamed back. "DO YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THEY ARE?"

"UM, HELLO, I'M MISSING MORE THAN HALF OF MY WARDROBE, THANKS TO YOU!" Nonoko made a wild gesture at the trashed room around her.

The two simmered and glared at each other for one long minute before Sumire turned around with a flick of her permed tresses and went back to searching.

"Not my problem."

Nonoko snapped. That was it.

Grabbing a stray sock, she rolled it into a ball and whipped it at Sumire's bobbing green head like a boss.

SMACK.

Mikan wolf-whistled while Anna just smacked her forehead and sighed loudly.

Sumire slowly turned around, hand on the back of her head, an ominous aura curling from her body.

Nonoko stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry.

"How do you like my sock bomb, huh? Bitch."

A wicked smile made its way to Sumire's lips and she reached for another stray sock.

"Oh, I'll show you a fucking sock bomb."

WHACK.

Nonoko smirked, unfazed by the sock that had just bounced off of her stomach.

"You're on, Sumi."

SMACK.

Mikan whooped as an epic sock bomb war commenced. Now _this_ is why she loved her BFFs.

Anna, so far unsuccessful with regaining peace between her conflicted sister and best friend, went over to Mikan begging for help.

"C'mon, Banana, you gotta admit this is fun to watch," the brunette laughed as Sumire got a sock in the face. "I'm even tempted to join..."

Anna hurriedly grabbed her arm.

"No, wait, don't! H-Hotaru! Plane! Hotaru!" She jerked her head urgently toward the said girl.

Mikan looked over her shoulder and almost jumped out of her bunny slippers. An uneasy smile made its way to her lips.

There was Hotaru, with her famous serial killer I-will-murder-all-of-you-morons-slowly-and-painful ly-if-you-don't-stop-right-now look. Mikan glanced at the clock. A small 'oh' escaped her lips.

Their plane left at twelve thirty.

It was almost eleven.

"Okie dokie," she walked into the danger zone and clapped her hands loudly. "You two, stop acting like little brats and get all your crap packed up so we could—"

She was cut short by a sock bomb face palm.

Anna squeaked and Nonoko and Sumire froze.

If there was one thing you didn't do in this house, it was hit Mikan Sakura in the face with a sock bomb.

The brunette slowly bent down to pick up the rolled-up ball of cotton, her features darkening in a very scary way.

"Oh, so that's how you wanna play it, huh?" she smirked evilly, tossing the sock up and down in her hand. "Fine. Die, morons."

She threw the sock bomb like some torpedo.

The girls dodged it and it went and hit Hotaru.

The temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

Oh, they were in for it now.

* * *

"I...cannot...believe...we finished...thirty minutes before..." Sumire collapsed onto the hard plastic airport chair and exhaled.

After Hotaru had killed them all with her atomic sock bombs, the girls literally flew to the airport, bombarded through all the security and pre-flight procedures, and then sprinted to their designated waiting area.

Half an hour before they could even board the plane.

"No...my sweats..." Sumire cried weakly.

She would've shouted, but her lungs didn't have enough air. Hotaru had literally kicked them out of the house before she could find her precious sweatpants.

"You're _still_ going on about that?" Nonoko huffed as she flopped down on the chair opposite Sumire. "I had to throw whatever into my suitcase at the last minute. I don't even know what I put in there. If I'm missing clothes, I'm stealing yours."

"Ha, I'd like to see you try..." Sumire threatened weakly.

Anna sighed and sat down next to Hotaru.

"Come on girls, just let it go. We'll go on shopping spree when we get to Tokyo, 'kay? I know a brilliant mall there."

She half-expected them to yell at her again, but apparently they were too exhausted.

Mikan wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and sprawled out over two chairs, a new cherry red lollipop in her mouth.

There was absolute silence for three, four, five seconds.

.

.

.

"Hey, I'm boooorrred..." Mikan drawled loudly.

Hotaru scowled.

"Thirty minutes, Mikan. Shut up for thirty minutes."

"But it's so boring!" The brunette jumped up and did a handstand. "I wanna do something!"

Sumire frowned and shook a lazy finger at her.

"Then I dare you to stay like that for ten minutes without passing out. That's something."

"Fine."

Mikan shifted on her hands a bit and then stayed absolutely still.

One minute passed.

"But this is boring too! C'mon, I'm a dancer, I need to do something!" The brunette whined impatiently.

"Argh, shut _up, _you're so annoying_!" _Sumire tried to kick her.

Mikan backflipped out of reach and made a face. Then she stood up straight.

"Geez, lazy asses, we're going to the _Tokyo Alice Academy of Dance_. The super famous TAAD! Shouldn't you all be at least a _little_ excited?"

"Yeah, but...we got a fake scholarship," Anna worried. "What if we get caught?"

Mikan let out an long, exasperated sigh. This was, like, the fifth time she had to explain it.

"No, the scholarship isn't _fake—_it's just...free, because of our situation. My uncle is the principal, okay? He knows about me, about us, about our dancing skills, and he defintely knows what he's doing. So chill. We're not, like, bribing him or anything."

"Hmm..." Anna wasn't convinced.

"Okay, fine then, but what about us?" Sumire pointed out. "What if we get found out? This is Tokyo, Mikan, the gossip _king_."

Mikan didn't quite know how to respond to this one. Partially because she had been thinking the same exact thing before.

"Look, we already bought the tickets, we already got into the school, let's just go with the flow and see where we end up, okay? It's too late to turn back now."

But even she could hear how uncertain she sounded.

"Well, we _did_ want to become famous," Nonoko reminded Sumire, adding a little insistent shove with her words.

"And this is the fastest and safest way," Anna chimed in, adding another shove.

Sumire glared at the twins. They, in turn, bore her through with fierce gazes.

"So let's knock'em out," Sumire finished slowly, rolling her eyes and giving the twins a '_geez, I get it already_' look. "Okay...fine."

Mikan gave a little sigh of relief and the twins did as well, though that went unnoticed by her. Anna, Nonoko, and Sumire exchanged understanding glances. They wouldn't trouble Mikan any more. She already had too much going on in her head.

Nonoko leaned back against her chair wearily and let her eyes wander around the vast, empty airport. Funny how nobody else was going to Tokyo tonight. Only them. They would probably get one of those tiny planes that made your ears feel like someone was attacking them with a chainsaw. Nonoko groaned. She was _not_ looking forward to that.

Suddenly, her eyes halted on something and Nonoko automatically clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Oh...my god..."

Her wide navy blue eyes were focused on something behind Mikan.

"What...?" Mikan slowly turned around, half-expecting Justin Bieber or a guy with a giant bloody axe.

She saw nothing.

"What?" She demanded again, looking pointedly at the open-mouthed girl.

"Es-Es-" Nonoko stuttered.

"Es...?" Mikan pushed.

"Escalator thingy!" Nonoko squealed as she jumped out of her chair and raced toward a long, flat, moving belt_—_the kind in airports for people with lots of luggage or lazy asses who didn't want to walk.

"What? Escalator—? Oh. My. God." Mikan stood up abruptly. "The floor is moving."

"The correct term is travelator, idiot," Hotaru muttered, but Mikan was already long gone.

* * *

Mikan and Nonoko were still playing on the escalator thingy, aka travelator, when they heard the announcement.

Nonoko, who had been about to step off the moving pathway, tripped and fell on her face. Mikan, who had been currently running against the travelator, also tripped and fell on her face.

Sumire shot up from where she had been half-sleeping and bonked Anna in the head, and the magazine that Hotaru had been reading crumbled in her fist.

_"Due to technical difficulties, flight XXX to Tokyo will be delayed. Passengers please wait patiently in the designated waiting area until further notice."_

"Okay, this is a really bad joke," Sumire growled under her breath.

Mikan and Nonoko returned from their travelator playground.

"Did they just say what I think they said?" Mikan began slowly, rubbing her stinging forehead.

"I don't think airport ladies make mistakes..." Anna shrugged helplessly.

Hotaru massaged her temples in aggravation. "Jesus Christ, of all things, a _delay_."

"But_—_how long are we gonna have to wait?" Nonoko patted her bruised cheek. "Don't we start school, like, first thing tomorrow?"

Sumire waved a hand in front of her face. "Uh, hello? We're not airport ladies. How would we fucking know?"

"Language, Sumire," Nonoko scolded. "I was just asking, geez."

"Oh please, when have you ever cared about language?" Sumire retorted. "We're street girls. Cussing is our _thing_."

"Be quiet. I'm trying to think," Mikan snapped next to her.

She took her iPhone out and went to her contacts. She scrolled down, down, down...

"Dammit, I don't have his number. Shit."

Mikan shoved her phone roughly back into her sweats.

"Whose number?" Anna inquired curiously.

"Don't look at me like that," Mikan grumbled. "It's just my uncle—you know, the principal. We were supposed to meet him at exactly seven-thirty today. He doesn't know we're stranded in a goddamn airport."

"Today?" Anna repeated, puzzled.

"Girl, it's 12:45. Yes, today." Mikan jabbed her thumb toward a giant silver clock hanging above some rip-off airport store.

Anna glanced at it and made an 'o' with her mouth.

"Hey, Hotaru, what should we do?" Mikan shook the ebony-haired girl's arm.

She was unresponsive.

"Hotaru...?"

Mikan peered over her shoulder and saw her immersed in an intense Angry Birds game on her iPhone. Even in the current situation, she had to bite back a laugh. If there was one thing Hotaru just couldn't get over, it was Angry Birds. I mean, slingshots, angle calculations, green pigs, and egg bombs. Who wouldn't love it?

Well, Mikan thought the game was completely stupid and utterly boring.

"Go to hell, stupid pig," Hotaru muttered.

Sumire smiled. Anna and Nonoko giggled softly.

Mikan watched as Hotaru loaded her last bird, the tiny blue kind, and shot it. It split into three and the brunette saw the first hit a crate, the second hit a crate, and the third miss the pig.

MISS.

"Damn," Hotaru cursed.

Mikan did some mental applauding.

Bravo. The only game in the world that the mighty tech master Hotaru couldn't beat.

Angry Birds.

Then Hotaru's amethyst eyes unglued themselves from the screen and looked at Mikan.

"Go away before I smack you. I was just finishing the level."

Mikan sat down immediately, but she couldn't stop her lips from stretching into an uncontrollable grin.

"Whoever made Angry Birds is God."

She got a magazine in the face and the girls burst out laughing, momentarily forgetting about their rotten dilemma. Even Hotaru spared a ghost of a smile.

That is, until someone cleared their throat. Mikan paused to catch her breath and looked up to see one of the airport ladies, all dressed up in a fancy-looking blue suit.

"Excuse me, but are you girls waiting for flight XXX to Tokyo?"

The smile disappeared from Mikan's face and she felt a heavy dread in the pit of her stomach.

"Yes, we are. Has it arrived?"

The airport lady shook her head apologetically.

"I'm very sorry, but the engine of the plane is malfunctioning. It's not safe to fly. Of course, we will be preparing another plane for the flight, but please be patient with us. It will be ready in..." —she checked her clipboard— "...approximately three hours."

Sumire shot up, her jaw hanging.

"Three hours? _Three_ _hours_?" Her voice escalated incredulously. "Listen here, miss. We don't _have_ three hours!"

"Yes, I'm sorry, but the plane is malfunctioning—"

"Bitch please. We're in the 21st century. Don't we have, like, high-tech machines things to fix that kind of stuff in a fucking second?"

"Sumire..." Anna pulled on her arm nervously.

"Again, we are incredibly sorry—"

Sumire scoffed. "_Sorry?_ Sorry doesn't get us to Tokyo, granny. You people these days can't even do your job right."

The airport lady was getting impatient.

"Please, I'm only a messenger. I'd rather not argue with you, miss."

"Fine, go away." Sumire made a shooing motion with her hand. "The fat showing through those tight-ass clothes is starting to bother me. You should go on a diet, lady."

"Sumire!" Anna stood up and pushed her away roughly. Then she bowed repeatedly in apology to the infuriated airport lady.

"Oh my god, I am so so so so so so sorry for my friend's behavior. She was _extremely_ rude. Don't take it to heart miss, you are very pretty."

The lady forced a smile.

"It's okay, don't worry about it."

Then she turned on her heel and strode briskly away, but not before Sumire saw the look of contempt and disgust on her face.

"Hey, miss, if you make such an ugly face all the time you'll lose your job!" she shouted.

Anna saw the lady cringe and walk faster until she disappeared down a flight of stairs. Then the pinkette turned around furiously and whacked Sumire across the head.

"Sumire Shouda, what's gotten into you? How can you be so rude to a poor, innocent lady?"

Sumire coughed. "I can't believe you called her 'pretty'. She was disgusting to look at."

"Still! You can't go around insulting strangers! I swear, the bad karma is going to come back to you one day," Anna warned.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"It was funny though," Hotaru commented blandly off to the side.

Mikan and Nonoko smirked at each other and nodded while Sumire gave Anna a '_see?' _look.

"Ugh, you people are impossible," Anna groaned.

* * *

_Monday, Sept. 1, 1:29 am_

_From: Aki-chan_

_Hey, u guys on the plane yet?_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Monday, Sept. 1, 1:30 am_

_From: Mi-chan_

_u wish. stupid planes broken -_-_

___XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

___Monday, Sept. 1, 1:30 am_

___From: Aki-chan_

___seriously? 0_0_

_______XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_____Monday, Sept. 1, 1:31 am_

_____From: Mi-chan_

_____*rolls eyes* noooooo...thats why were still in the airport..._

_______XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_______Monday, Sept. 1, 1:31 am_

_______From: Aki-chan_

_______...dont we have machines now to fix tat stuff?_

_________XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_________Monday, Sept. 1, 1:32 am_

_________From: Mi-chan_

_________funny, thats what sumi said_

___________XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_Monday, Sept. 1, 1:32 am_

_From: Aki-chan_

_how longs it gonna take?_

___XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

___Monday, Sept. 1, 1:33 am_

___From: Mi-chan_

___dude, still got 2 hrs_

_____XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_____Monday, Sept. 1, 1:33 am_

_____From: Aki-chan_

_____me and the guys are bored so were coming over_

_______XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_______Monday, Sept. 1, 1:34 am_

_______From: Mi-chan_

_______whatever ________:D_

_________XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

"Hey, who're you texting?" Sumire leaned over Mikan's shoulder.

Mikan pressed send and tucked her iPhone back into her pocket.

"Akira. He said that he and the guys are coming to the airport."

"Really?" Anna brightened. "So that means we can see them one last time before we go!"

Mikan hit her arm lightly.

"C'mon, Anna, don't make it sound like we'll never see them again."

* * *

"Took you guys long enough," Mikan huffed as she glared at the five, taller boys who now stood before them.

"'Sup, Mi-chan," the one with messy sandy hair grinned. "Did you miss us that much?"

"I was bored," the brunette admitted. "Glad you got here before the plane."

"So, Hota-chan, how's it going?" An orange-head went and sat down next to Hotaru, who was on her iPhone again. "Mi-chan driving you insane yet?"

"Doesn't she always?" Hotaru's lips turned upward slightly. "Nice seeing you here, Tadashi."

"Banana!" "Noko!"

A golden blonde and raven black-haired guy hugged the twins respectively.

"Yuki...can't...breath..." Anna gasped.

"Oops, sorry!" He let go and laughed sheepishly.

"Haru, you smell like mangos," Nonoko sniffed the black-haired guy's arm.

"Really? I did eat some on the way here."

He sniffed himself to make sure.

"And you didn't save any for me?" Nonoko pouted. "Meanie!"

"Hey, is Sumire dead?" a turtle-green-haired boy pointed toward the body lying on the chairs with a magazine covering the head.

"No," Hotaru said without taking her eyes off of her iPhone screen. "She's just sulking around because she thinks she could've found her sweats by now if she had stayed home. Doubtful, really."

"Hey!" Sumire sat up and let the magazine fall. "I _know_ I could've! Ryuu, she's bullying me!"

The green-haired guy chuckled and ruffled her hair. "So, you lost your sweats?"

"Yes, I lost my sweats! And they were my favorite too!"

"She finally admits it," Nonoko grumbled.

"Hota-chan, lemme guess, you're playing Angry Birds again?" Akira snickered.

"Shut up, you fool," Hotaru growled.

Tadashi peeked over her shoulder.

"She shoots, she shoots, aaaaaand...she misses!" he broadcasted loudly.

WHACK.

The group broke into laughter as Tadashi sat up and rubbed his cheek, grinning.

Oh, this was just like the good old times.

But Mikan knew, and so did everyone else, that in less than two hours, they would all have to separate and follow their own paths. Their special, one-of-a-kind dancing group, the Circus, would be no more.

"Hey, did you see the moving belt thing over there?" Akira pointed to the travelator.

"Oh my god, the moving floor, right?" Mikan squealed excitedly. "Yes! It's so fun! You should try cartwheeling on it!"

"Akira, do a backflip on it without falling—" Yuki smacked him on the back, "—and I'll give you a dollar."

"Oh, you're on," Akira jogged toward the flat escalator.

"Wait up!" Mikan and Yuki shouted, followed by Anna, Nonoko, and Haru.

"Guys, the correct term is travelator," Tadashi called after them.

They didn't hear him.

"Don't waste your breath, Tadashi. All of them are morons," Hotaru muttered flatly.

* * *

The plane finally arrived at three-thirty.

There were last hugs and 'I'll miss you's' and kisses on the cheeks, and then the girls boarded the tiny plane.

Mikan couldn't help but feel an empty space in her heart, like she had just lost something important.

The boys were so much like her brothers. She and the girls didn't know what they would do without them. They had been through so much together on the rough streets of Miyazaki, and they knew basically everything about each other. Those guys, and the girls, were definitely Mikan's soul mates. The Circus had been her family, the only one she had ever known. But the girls had a future they wanted to make, and even though she pleaded with her uncle, he couldn't spare another free scholarship to five more people. That would've been too suspicious to the teachers of the academy.

Mikan understood. They was nothing she could do about it.

But right before the door to the plane slid close, the sharp brunette saw something in Akira's coffee-brown eyes, something that told her that she would be seeing the guys again soon.

Suspicious, but still, she was in higher spirits.

That is, until the plane took off.

"My frigging ears! OWWWWW! Someone kill me now!" Sumire shrieked as she dug her fingers into her hair and clawed like a rabid cat.

"You're not the only one! Shut up!" Nonoko gritted her teeth and cringed as another wave of searing pain hit her.

"Ah! It's getting worse!" Anna cried, doubled over with her head in her hands.

Hotaru made no sound, but her constant grimacing showed that she was in immense pain also.

And Mikan?

Mikan was already in Hell.

"YEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW !"

* * *

"We...survived...hooray..." Sumire dragged herself out of the airport, leaning on her lime green suitcase for support.

A bright morning sun hung over the busy city of Tokyo. There was the sound of traffic and people everywhere.

"Ahhh, I feel light-headed," Anna breathed.

Nonoko shook her head vigorously from side to side.

"My ears are still ringing..." She glanced sideways. "...But of course, Hotaru's okay."

Then she watched as the impassive girl downed a whole bottle of water in one go.

"Or not."

"Where's Mikan?" Sumire asked, looking around.

"Bathroom," Hotaru replied simply, capping the empty bottle and tossing it into a recycle bin.

"She got it the worst, huh?" Anna giggled softly. "Not a plane girl, is she?"

"Oh, I'm hating on planes for the rest of my life," Sumire declared.

"But bigger planes are better," Nonoko stated matter-of-factly. "More pressurized."

"Then get me a big plane next time," a weak voice called from behind.

The girls turned around to see Mikan stumbling toward them, still looking green. Nevertheless, she managed a smile.

"A really big one."

Then she doubled over and spilled whatever was left of her dinner all over her Nikes and onto the ground.

* * *

"Daaaayuuum," Sumire gasped as their taxi stopped in front of a towering, wrought iron gate.

The girls filed out and the driver helped them unload their suitcases from the trunk, politely refraining from commenting on the awful barf smell that he had to endure the whole hour-and-a-half long ride. Anna felt bad for him, so she added an extra five dollars to his tip, which he gratefully accepted. Then he drove off, leaving the girls to gape at the elegant monstrosity standing before them.

"Okay, soooo...is there a doorbell?" Anna wondered.

As if answering her, the gates slowly creaked open by themselves.

"Woah...creepy," Nonoko eyed them warily.

Anna, on the contrary, was even more enthusiastic.

"Great! Let's go!"

She grabbed Nonoko's arm and dragged her in while the other three girls trailed behind.

**XXX**

It was ten o'clock, and the school was alive and bustling.

The girls walked down a wide cobblestone path past a vast, well-trimmed green lawn. There were fountains and trees and benches dotting the grounds, and students in uniforms were hanging out and talking to each other and laughing at stupid jokes. Some stopped to stare at them as they passed and then whisper amongst themselves, but the girls ignored it. They knew they looked really out of place with their t-shirts and sweats and suitcases.

The group of five finally reached the academy doors, which were also humongous. However, they were surprisingly light and easy to push open, so the girls went in.

"Okaaaaay...so where's the principal's office?" Sumire looked expectantly at Mikan.

"Don't ask me. I dunno," the brunette replied indifferently.

Sumire let out a loud groan.

"Good lord, Mikan, this is _your_ uncle we're talking about!"

"So? Doesn't mean I know everything about him."

"But at least his office—"

"No."

Sumire facepalmed herself and exhaled slowly.

"Okay, whatever, just go and ask somebody."

Mikan scanned the hallway. There were a few students here and there, but they all seemed to be busy.

"Who?"

Sumire threw her hands in the air in exasperation.

"Do I look like I give a damn? Just pick one! Eeeny, meeny, miney, moe! That guy!"

Her finger had landed on a raven-haired boy hanging out with a few other guys next to the lockers.

Mikan shrugged. Well, they didn't seem to be doing anything.

"Fine."

She and the girls walked up to him and she tapped him lightly on the arm.

"Hey."

The guy turned around and the first thing Mikan noticed were his eyes.

Deep crimson.

Strange.

"Can you show us the way to the principal's office?" she asked.

He looked mildly surprised. Those weird crimson eyes raked the length of her body—T-shirt, sweats, and all.

"Are you new?" His friend with the sandy hair and big amber eyes asked curiously.

"Just tell us where the principal's office is, dammit," Sumire snapped grumpily.

Anna immediately whacked Sumire over the head.

"Manners, Sumi! Don't you remember what I said about talking to strangers?"

Sumire rolled her eyes as she smoothed her permed green hair.

"I didn't call him fat or ugly, did I?"

Anna whacked her again.

"That's not what I meant, stupid! That's not the airport lady! That's a _guy_!"

Sumire feigned surprise.

"You're fucking kidding! That's a _guy_? Omigosh, I didn't know!"

Mikan sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose impatiently. Again with Sumire and her stupid attitude. They couldn't even get directions properly now. After ten more seconds of arguing, Hotaru finally pushed to the front and shot a _shut-up-now-before-I-wring-your-necks_ glare at the two girls. They both stopped mid-sentence and cleared their throats, turning away from each other. Then she fixed her amethyst eyes on the boy with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"You. Talk."

The boy pointed to himself and Hotaru just stared at him blankly.

"Uh..." He shivered under her frigid gaze. Shoot, he had forgotten what the question was.

"Where's the principal's office?" she restated.

"Oh...Oh, the principal's office, it's—" The blonde boy stopped and took a deep breath. "Fifth floor, first door on the left."

Damn, that girl made him real nervous for some reason.

"Fifth floor, first door on the left," Mikan repeated. "Alright."

Then she brushed past the guys wordlessly and was about to head toward the elevator. Until someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Hey, where's our thank you?"

Mikan turned around and looked steadily into mocking crimson eyes. Normally she would pick a fight with someone like this, but today, being her first day at the academy and all, she really didn't want to make a scene.

A deep breath.

"...thanks."

Then she quickly shook off the guy's hand and took a step forward.

And that's when he grabbed her arm, again.

Mikan inhaled slowly, gritted her teeth, and whipped around, pissed.

"What the_ hell_ do you want?"

The crimson-eyed boy just snickered.

"You...smell like shit."

"Pfft—" Sumire tried to muffle her burst of laughter with her hand. It sure as hell didn't work.

Mikan just rolled her eyes, peeved that the guy had stopped her for such a stupid thing. As if Sumire and Nonoko hadn't told her enough.

"Brilliant. Now get your hands off me."

In the blink of an eye, she karate-chopped his wrist—hard. The crimson-eyed boy immediately released her arm, biting his lip to keep himself from yelling in pain. Mikan smirked. She knew it hurt like hell. After four years on rough city streets, strength had become her best mate.

"It'll leave a bruise. Use this to treat it." Mikan rummaged through her pockets and tossed him a tiny bottle of ointment, which he caught smoothly with his other hand. "Next time, don't get in my way."

And without another word, she left, with Hotaru following behind.

"The hell?" The crimson-eyed boy stared at the bottle in his hand. It was real medicine—he could tell. "She fucking breaks my wrist, and then she gives me ointment?"

"Oh, that's just the way Mikan is," Anna explained, smiling. "She actually doesn't really like hurting other people, so she does things like this. She's a great person at heart."

"Yeah..._reaally_ great," Sumire muttered sarcastically.

Anna glared at her.

"And she just smells shitty because she puked on herself after the plane," Nonoko whispered, feeling the need to clarify that.

The crimson-eyed boy raised an amused eyebrow, but before he could say anything, the other three girls uttered a quick "Bye!" and hurried off to catch the elevator before the doors closed.

* * *

**Another POV**

"Hey, weren't those girls hot?" Koko shoved Ruka playfully. "Weren't they? Weren't they?"

"Well...they were different..." the blonde admitted, thinking back to the cold stare of the black-haired girl.

"Different...and hot," Koko insisted.

Then he noticed that Kitsuneme was muttering to himself absentmindedly, cheeks tinged the slightest pink. Of course, Koko, being the best friend, twin brother, and nosy brat, leaned in to hear what he was saying.

"...the one with the blue hair was kinda cute..."

Koko immediately slapped an overly-dramatic hand over his mouth.

"Woah, woah, woah, is our innocent little Kitsu in _loooove_?"

Kitsuneme blushed a deep red and pushed Koko's face away roughly.

"Shut up, Koko. And I'm _not._"

But Koko didn't hear him—he was already off scheming naughty little plans to get his brother and the blue-haired girl together.

"Well," Yuu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "...what do you think, Natsume?"

The raven-haired boy rolled the bottle of ointment between his fingers.

"Do I really have to answer that?"

"Yes!" The four other guys answered immediately.

He sighed and ran a hand through his raven tresses.

"I need to see them dance first before I give a damn who they are. But I can't say I'm not interested."

* * *

**There's the first chapter! **

**I don't really know if this is a good story, so please tell me what you think! ****Reviews and critique would be awesome!**

**Anyways, for those of you STILL waiting, I'm planning to update The Day I Fell Off of a Tree next.**

**Should I continue this story?**

**-momocandy XD**


	2. Arrival

**Chapter 2 is FINALLY up!**

**So, where was I for the past few weeks? **

**Well, I went on a hike to the Amazon, got lost there for about a month or two, fought with a few crocodiles and monkeys, but survived and came back to write this EXTREMELY belated chappie.**

**Or, the simpler version, school was being a bully and I was obssessed with watching three different, LONG animes. **

**So, by now you all should know that you cannot trust me with deadlines. ****I'm super super sorry to all my readers for my horrible laziness and lateness.**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

**Circus**

**by: momocandy**

**Chapter 2 - Arrival**

**XXX**

"Oh, look who finally shows up," a man with unkempt auburn hair drawled as his eyes flitted from the five girls entering his office to the clock, who's hour hand was currently resting on number eleven. "_Three _hours late. Wonderful."

"Hey, it wasn't my fault, Uncle," Mikan retorted indignantly as she flopped down onto a pillow-laden couch. "Our plane broke. If you're that annoyed, go sue the airport or something."

"And fire all the _stupid_ mechanics," Sumire grumbled, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie from a random platter on a table. "Because they suck."

She was just about to pop the cookie into her hungry mouth when Anna intervened and snatched it away.

"You're on a diet. Cookies are forbidden."

Sumire slowly closed her mouth and turned to stare at Anna strangely, as if she had just sang Elmo's World at the top of her lungs.

"_S'cuse_ me?"

"You have too much fat here," Anna poked her in the stomach none-too-gently. "And fat is horribly unattractive when you dance—plus dead weight."

Sumire quickly wrapped her arms protectively around her slightly bulging tummy and stuck out her bottom lip defiantly.

"Well, what's the point of dancing if there's no damn fat to burn?"

"Dancing is a _hobby_, not an exercise," Anna replied pointedly, her arms crossed. "So I'm in charge of your diet now, okie dokie? And that means _no_ cookies."

Sumire didn't look too happy with that.

"Um...how about NO. Who made you the damn boss of me anyways?"

"I did."

"Haha, very funny—there's no way in hell you're making me go on a diet."

Anna smirked.

"Oh really?"

Sumire rolled her eyes and turned around to grab another cookie. Then she froze.

"Heeeey...where did all the cookies go?"

Immediately, her glare fell on Anna. The bubblegum pink-haired gal shrugged innocently, averting her gaze.

"I wonder where...?"

A deep growl gurgled from Sumire's throat and she started to get up.

"Anna, you little—"

"Hey."

Sumire faltered just as she was about to pounce onto the cookie-stealer and glanced back uncertainly at a poker-faced Hotaru.

"...what?"

"Sit down and shut up."

Sumire blinked and her ominous aura immediately disappeared, as if by magic.

"Gotcha." She hurriedly sat down and shut up.

Anna breathed a little sigh of relief and made a mental note to thank Hotaru later.

"Impressive." Principal Kazumi Yukihira, a.k.a. Kazu, acknowledged Hotaru with a tiny smile. "But then again, you've always had that kind of effect on other people. Just like your mother."

Hotaru's hand twitched and she quickly hid it by clenching her fist, but Mikan noticed. In return, she sent her uncle a death glare.

"Hey, stupid Uncle, just give us our dorm number and homeroom and we'll leave," she demanded impatiently. "We're probably distracting you from your principal duties anyway."

"Oh no, don't worry." Kazu didn't catch her glare or her impatience. "I've got a free day today."

Mikan puffed up her cheeks, annoyed.

"Well, you sure as hell are keeping us from getting to class."

"And when have you cared so much about school?" Kazu returned, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Well, when have you cared so much about me?"

Silence.

The words slipped out before Mikan could stop herself. And she didn't really mean them either—not exactly. It was just the spur of the moment. But her uncle was no longer smiling.

"Look at me," he finally ordered sternly.

Mikan continued to stare at the table, silently cursing her big ass mouth.

"Mikan,_ look_ at me."

Eyes widening the slightest in surprise, she reluctantly turned to face her uncle and his hurt, amber eyes. Amber eyes, just like hers, just like that man's—

"I never, _ever_ want to hear those words come out of your mouth again, you hear?"

Mikan bit her lip and said nothing_. S_he didn't make promises. Instead, her fingers busied themselves with the cookie in her hand.

"You remembered...my name," she finally mumbled.

Kazu blinked before his eyes softened with the smallest tinge of sadness.

"'Course I did. You did tell me on the phone before. And you girls too, you all changed your names, didn't you?"

The other four nodded, though Sumire, Anna, and Nonoko were somewhat hesitant. Mikan didn't blame them. After all, unlike Hotaru and herself, they weren't really acquainted with this Kazumi Yukihira, the principal of the most prestigious dancing school in Japan. To just give him all the little details of their secret was risky no matter how you looked at it.

Mikan thought the same.

"Uncle, the dorm number and homeroom." She cleared her throat, her voice once again firm and strong.

Kazu sighed heavily_—_he seemed to have aged ten years in the last five minutes.

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

The conversation would stop here for today. Even though he still had so much he wanted to tell Mikan and Hotaru.

Mikan and Hotaru.

Even in his thoughts, the names sounded strange and unfamiliar and...cold. He would've much rather preferred their other names_—_the real ones. But alas, that would completely jeopardize the girls' identities, so he would just have to bear with it for now. Maybe some day, in the future, Mikan would let him call her by her old name one more time, one last time before the sweet little girl he used to know disappeared forever.

Kazu leaned forward and ripped a post-it from the rainbow stack on the table—so contrary to the heavy atmosphere. Grabbing the first pen that came to hand, he scribbled a few notes and passed it to Mikan.

"Building A, Dorm 25. Building C, Homeroom 12-A."

Mikan looked it over and nodded in thanks. Then she and the other girls stood up to make their leave. But just as she was about to turn away, Mikan hesitated and looked back at her uncle, back at the broken amber eyes that so closely resembled her own.

She took a deep breath.

"Uncle, I know—I know that you're not a bad person, and that you'd probably never do anything to hurt me or any of my friends...but that doesn't change the fact that you're—that man's brother."

She shifted on her feet a bit and moistened her bottom lip before continuing.

"I've decided to trust you—" It sounded as if she was finalizing it for herself at that moment. "—but...I hope I'm not making a huge mistake."

Kazu smiled weakly. She trusted him. That was enough, for now.

"I swear, on my life, that your secret is safe behind these sealed lips. Cross my heart."

Mikan nodded.

"Alright."

She almost looked like she wanted to say something else, but no more words were uttered from her lips as she turned around and headed out. Kazu was tempted to grab her arm and pull her back, to talk and fix everything together_—_but no. For Mikan and Hotaru, it was already too late.

Kazu sighed and stood from the couch. Raising his lowered head, he almost fell over in surprise when he saw that Hotaru still had not exited the office. No, she was gazing at him with those intelligent, unnerving amethyst eyes of hers. He stared back, unsure what to do.

"You should never swear on life," she finally spoke—softly, monotonously. "It is too precious and too easy to lose."

And then she left, leaving Kazu to ponder those ominous words.

* * *

"Phew, that was damn _intense_!" Sumire fanned herself with her hand as they trudged down the hall. "The principal needs an AC, big time."

Anna slapped her arm roughly, glancing nervously at a quiet Mikan.

"Shut up, you insensitive woman."

Sumire ignored her and peered at Mikan from the corner of her eye.

"Y'know, instead of throwing that perfectly good cookie in the trash, you could've given it to me."

Silence.

"Seriously, Sumi, shut up. You're not helping," Nonoko hissed as she glared at her.

But Sumire did not shut up. Instead, she sighed and turned around to face Mikan, cupping her shoulders into her hands.

"C'mon, girl, quit being all depressed like that. That's not the Mikan I know. Me and you, we'll beat up whoever gets in our way, alright? And I'm here whenever you need me."

The twins also chirped some words of support. But Mikan remained mute. Sumire shook her shoulder, starting to worry.

"Mikan, what's up with you...?"

And that's when they heard Hotaru's soft, amused voice.

"Idiots, the stupid girl's half-asleep. She can't hear you."

Sumire stared at Hotaru for a long time before turning back to Mikan.

"_What_...?"

She raised Mikan's head only to find that, sure enough, the girl's eyelids were fluttering up and down like tiny butterflies, as if she couldn't decide whether to doze off or stay awake. Sumire felt a sudden surge of annoyance as she pushed down the eyelids and heard a little content sigh escape from Mikan's lips. Jesus, this girl, making her worry for no damn reason...

As she heaved Mikan's arm around her shoulder and draped the other one over Anna's, she grumbled, "Remind me to punch her when she wakes up."

* * *

The girls had originally planned to drag Mikan to their dorm and let her sleep there for a while. What they didn't know was that the elevator in Building A was currently under construction. And Dorm 25 was on the fifth floor.

"Okay...I'm really going to punch this girl when she wakes up," Sumire groaned as she strained to make it to the next step, the extra burden limp and heavy on her back.

"Stop complaining, Sumi," Anna huffed, her brow glistening with a sheen of sweat. "I'm carrying her too, y'know. We should let Mikan rest. And stop banging her leg against the stairs."

"Hello? Do you think I do that purpose?" Sumire took one more step before leaning against the rail, completely pooped. "Okay, someone—Nonoko, take over. I can't do this anymore."

"Oh, no thanks, I'm good," Nonoko replied as she hurried past them up the stairs.

Sumire gaped after the fleeing girl before turning to Anna.

"You're sister...is a bitch."

Anna shrugged.

"We get along just fine."

Sumire huffed and stared at Mikan's serene, sleeping face. Then she made a low, growling noise in her throat and once again started heaving Mikan up the stairs with Anna. But it wasn't long before another conflict arose.

"Hey, stop banging her leg!"

"Shut _up_! I can't help it!"

"Oh my god, she's gonna have a huge bruise now!"

"Well, my legs are about to break! How about that, huh?"

"How come I can still climb when you can't? Aren't you supposed to be the strong and mighty Sumire?"

"Well, maybe 'cause I'm carrying all the goddamn weight!"

And the extremely loud bickering went on and on. At the top of the stairs, Hotaru and Nonoko sighed.

"They're gonna wake up the stupid girl at this rate," Hotaru muttered.

"Right?" Nonoko agreed.

And sure enough, after a little more leg-banging on the steps and an especially loud yell from Sumire, Mikan slowly raised her head and opened her eyes halfway, yawning.

"What are you doing?" she asked groggily, seeing an infuriated Sumire. "Where are we?"

"What am _I_ doing?" Sumire shrieked before giving the aforementioned punch—hard.

Mikan almost tumbled down the stairs, but now she was wide awake.

"What the hell did you do that for?" she exclaimed as she held her red-splotched cheek.

"'Cause you're too heavy, you lazy moron!" Sumire shouted back.

"_S'cuse_ me?"

Then Hotaru stepped between the two, silencing them.

"Now that you're awake, idiot, go take a shower," she addressed Mikan. "You still smell disgusting."

"And you," she turned to Sumire, "need to take a shower too, because you also smell disgusting."

"See what you've done?" Sumire pointed accusingly at Mikan. "Now I smell like _your_ puke!"

"Well, I'm_ so_ sorry!" Mikan spat before stomping up the stairs. "Do you think I_ wanted_ to puke on myself? Jesus, woman!"

* * *

After crashing into their dorm and taking nice, long showers and settling all room disputes, the girls were ready to go.

Except that their uniforms were nowhere to be found.

"Why does it seem like we've been having extra bad luck ever since we left Miyazaki?" Nonoko grumbled as they headed down the hall. "I mean, a delayed plane, an awkward talk with the principal, a broken elevator, and now _this_?"

A sign that read 'Main Office' at the end of the hall pointed to the left, so they turned left.

"You're just thinking too much," Mikan reassured.

After a hot shower and a cold glass of milk, the brunette felt refreshed and energized, and she really didn't want to spoil that feeling just yet.

"Oh god, why is the office _so—__fucking—__far__—away_?" Sumire whined as they turned once more into another hallway. "How big is this place?"

"Be quiet for once, Sumi," Nonoko chided. "Patience is a virtue."

"_Patience is a virtue_," Sumire imitated in a girly, high-pitched voice. "It's been four years, Noko. You should know by now that _I_ don't have no _patience_."

Nonoko rolled her eyes and sighed in agreement. "I know that all too well."

They finally reached the end of that hallway. But this time there were no more signs. No more finger pointing them to where they should go. In other words, they were good as lost.

"What the hell?" Sumire complained as she sagged against the wall. "Now what?"

"Now_—_" Mikan answered, as if teacher to a student, "_—_we use my amazing social skills. Watch and learn."

Her eyes scoured the corridor for someone nice-looking to ask. No girls, since most of them were two-faced bitches. Plus, she was wearing shorts right now—she'd obviously changed out of her stinky sweats—and she didn't need any more strange looks. No guys, since they could be hella annoying_—_just like before, Mikan remembered. But maybe...

Aha.

Mikan's eyes fell on a little boy probably no more than seven years old_—_from the elementary school division, she supposed. She had no idea what he was doing here in the high-school dorms, but he was just the person she needed. A little kid like him would give her a straight, honest answer.

"Hey, kid." She approached him. "Do you know where the main office is?"

He stared up at her with unnerving, bright turquoise eyes. Mikan almost felt as if they were familiar, but that was impossible. She'd never met someone with turquoise eyes before. The boy didn't say anything, so she knelt down and repeated her question.

Then, without warning, the boy reached out, grabbed something around her neck, and gave it a sharp tug. It came loose into his hand with a snap, and with it clutched between his fingers, the boy sped off.

Just like that.

"Wha_—_hey___—_what___?"_

Mikan groped around her neck. _What did he take? _Then, with a sudden jolt, she remembered. A necklace. A necklace with a cross. Her mother's present to her for her fifth birthday_—_the last birthday she had actually laughed and smiled with her family.

Mikan chuckled darkly.

Did that kid really think he could just run off with that?

"GET YER ASS BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" She shrieked as she took off after him, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake.

"Okaaay..." Sumire stared after them with a raised eyebrow, hands on her hips. "What, exactly, was I supposed to learn from that?"

"Oh, whatever, Sumi, let's go!" Anna urged, running ahead with Nonoko.

"_Let's go_? Uh, no, let's_ not_. I'm tired as hell and I'm not goin' nowhere," Sumire crossed her arms firmly.

Anna bounced back and grabbed her hand.

"Let's _go_."

And thus marked the beginning of another long, noisy as hell string of curses.

* * *

_So much for a straight, honest answer_, Mikan thought as she sped between the trees. The little brat was making her run through a friggin' forest.

After luring her out of the school, the boy headed directly for a clump of trees_—_Mikan assumed they separated Building A from some other building. But instead of using the path like most normal people would, he jumped right into the bushes.

Well, Mikan thought again, if she had been the one being chased by some crazy stranger, she probably would've done the same.

But still, this was_ beyond_ insane_._

_Ah, stupid necklace, why'd you break so easily? _

Mikan put on speed. She was glad she was wearing shorts instead of a skirt, since they were much easier to move in, but on the downside, they completely exposed her legs, hence the various cuts and scratches on her smooth skin and that big, bloody one in her left calf that probably needed disinfecting.

Well, she was used to injuries, so this was no big deal. But any longer in this hazardous forest and she was gonna trip over something and break her neck. And that was kinda a big deal. The little kid probably went through here often though, since he seemed to know exactly where he was going.

Mikan had found herself a mini Tarzan. Whoopee.

Finally, Mikan emerged into sunlight once more. She took a deep breath of fresh, insect-free air and brushed off all the dirt and bugs that had accumulated on her shoulders as she ran. Then she conked her speed up to full gear and started closing in on the boy.

That is, until he began climbing a tree.

A big, _big_ tree right next to a school building.

Are you_ serious? _Mikan gaped.

He was _definitely_ related to Tarzan.

But she wasn't going to lose to him just yet. He still had that very important necklace of hers. If she set her mind to it, there was nothing that Mikan Sakura couldn't do.

As she began to claw her way up the tree, Mikan glimpsed the rest of the girls from the corner of her eye, rushing into the building. They looked unharmed, so Mikan guessed that they used the forest path.

But why did they go inside the building?

A sharp click made Mikan look up. The little boy had climbed to a branch that stretched all the way to a window, and he had somehow opened that window from outside. Or someone inside had unlocked it for him beforehand.

_So the girls probably decided to get to that room via the stairs,_ Mikan realized.

Yup, definitely smarter than a tree.

But if she could climb up to the window now and get inside the room, she would have the kid cornered, because the girls would be blocking the door. And then he would have no choice but to surrender...

Mikan smirked. Oh, the sweet taste of victory...

In a flash, she was on the branch. Surprisingly, tree-climbing came naturally to her, despite being a city girl all her life. The boy had foolishly left the window open, and he was still within her view. So, without thinking, Mikan swung right through the window and landed lightly on a...

...desk?

Suddenly, her eyes met with surprised crimson ones, and time slowed for a second as something in the back of her mind clicked, and then her momentum took her a step forward and her right foot stepped on something thin and round just as her left foot left the desk.

_SLIP._

Whoops.

And she was falling_—_backwards.

With a loud bang and a dull thump, Mikan crashed into something rock hard_—_the row of desks under the desk that she had been standing on.

Thank god nobody had been sitting there.

There was absolute silence for five seconds, and then a cloud of hushed whispers came to life around her. Mikan pulled herself upright with a bit of effort and opened her eyes_—_only to find herself staring at a class full of bewildered students staring at _her_.

"Oh shit..."

And then she heard Anna's frantic voice through the pounding in her head and a heartbeat later, someone was dragging her up.

"Oh my god, are you okay? Did you hit your head?"

Mikan quickly brushed her off nonchalantly. Anna could freak out later when there was no one watching.

Her gaze then traveled to the front of the classroom, where a blonde-haired teacher was looking at her with an expectant smile, as if waiting for her to say something.

"Um..." Mikan began uncertainly, her throat unusually dry. "...sorry?"

So much for_ not_ bringing attention to herself. Now she'll be the talk of the school_—_the mentally challenged girl who flew right through the window trying to ambush a poor, helpless kid. Mikan groaned at the thought.

"Oh, don't worry!" the teacher replied cheerfully, almost as if he had read her mind. "Youichi's always been a troublemaker. Quite notorious in the academy, actually. But in the meantime, you should visit the infirmary. It's not safe to leave cuts untreated."

Anna perked up instantly and grabbed Mikan's wrist.

"Yes, exactly! I always tell her that but she never listens! Cuts need to be treated! The infirmary, it is!"

"What_—_wait, no_—_Anna, stop_—_wait_—" _Mikan struggled against her vice-like grip unsuccessfully as she was pulled to the door. What about the kid? She still had to get her necklace back!

"Ah!" the teacher suddenly exclaimed.

Anna stopped and looked back at him quizzically.

"Since you are new here, you wouldn't know where the infirmary is, would you?"

Anna put a thoughtful finger to her chin.

"You got a point there, mister."

Mikan sighed in relief and tried to break free once more, but Anna's other hand seemed to have a mind of its own and would not let go.

"Well then, why don't we have Natsume guide you there?"

Anna blinked and tilted her head to the side.

"Natsume?"

"Yes, Natsume." The teacher called to the back of the room. "Natsume, come down here!"

There was a heavy groan followed by a few grumbled words, and then five boys stood at once. Mikan immediately recognized them as the five boys that they had talked to in the morning.

What luck.

Anna raised her eyebrows.

"They're all named Natsume?"

"Uh, no," the boy with the sandy hair answered her. "But we come in a package. So if Natsume here_—_" he clapped a hand on the crimson-eyed guy's shoulder "—goes, then we're all coming."

Mikan frowned. _How troublesome..._

But then again, she and the girls were kinda like that too—a package, a can of sardines.

Then Mikan noticed a certain little brat clutching onto Natsume's shirt. So the kid was still here...her efforts were not yet in vain.

"Hey, is that kid coming too?" she pointed at him.

He immediately shrunk behind Natsume as if she'd given him a death threat. Making her seem like the bad guy, eh? Smart-ass kid.

"Oh yeah, sure," the sandy-haired guy replied. "Youichi goes wherever Natsume goes."

Mikan felt her face brighten and her spirits lift. So there was still hope!

"Brilliant! To the infirmary!"

And this time, it was her pulling Anna.

* * *

"You're the girl who smelled like shit."

Mikan rolled her eyes and shoved her arm into the rude guy's face.

"Not anymore! I took a BATH, smart one."

He turned away from her, crinkling his nose.

"You still smell like shit."

Mikan glared at him and sniffed herself to prove him wrong only to start coughing at the horrible stench.

"What_—_why?"

"Mikan, you ran though the forest, remember?" Anna reminded her, a smile tugging at her lips.

"The forest?" the blonde-haired boy repeated, eyebrows raised. "She ran_ through_ the forest?"

But Mikan was too aghast to hear him.

"Tarzan brat, this is ALL YOUR FAULT."

**XXX**

After Mikan had accepted the fact that she needed another shower, the group of people exchanged names.

Mikan learned that the sandy-haired guy was named Kokoro Yome, preferably Koko, and that he was the ultimate prankster, which made them best friends instantly.

The other sandy-haired guy was Koko's twin brother, Kitsuneme, preferably Kitsu, and they were partners in crime, which made him Mikan's best friend as well. But he was maybe a teensy bit more mature than Koko...maybe.

The guy with blonde hair and blue eyes—the one that Hotaru had spoken a few words to earlier—was Ruka Nogi, the half-French animal-lover. A huge benefit to Mikan since she had French this semester for her language. But besides that, he was also really nice, so Mikan had no trouble getting along with him.

The guy with olive-green hair and glasses was the super smart Yuu Tobita, who always got hundreds on all his tests. Another benefit to Mikan, who didn't exactly get hundreds on all her tests. But he also had a calm, cool demeanor, which Mikan found very interesting, because she always pictured smart people to be nerds that sputtered and stuttered every time they tried to form a sentence. Or maybe that was just the one kid that used to go to her old school.

And then there was good ole' Natsume Hyuuga, who had a big head, a big ego, and a big mouth. Not unlike Mikan herself. Very competitive too. She was looking forward to getting to know him better.

"So, what're your names?" Koko asked curiously.

"Uh..." Mikan blanked out for a second before remembering. "Oh yeah. Mikan_—_Mikan Sakura."

Koko raised an eyebrow.

"Did you just forget your own name?"

"Shut up."

But inside, Mikan felt an uncomfortable churning sensation in her stomach.

_I guess I'm still not used to telling people_ this_ name just yet..._

The other girls recited their names with no problem, though Sumire seemed a little tense. Then Nonoko tapped Mikan's arm.

"Hey, Mikan...why is your hair all wet?"

"_Wet?"_

Mikan reached up to feel her head. It _was_ wet. She realized why when her hand came back stained red.

"Ohhh...I guess I did hit my head..."

And that's when Anna freaked.

* * *

"For Mikan to get injured on her first day here..." Nonoko shook her head and sighed. "I'm really _not_ surprised."

"Anna, you're cutting off her oxygen," Sumire remarked.

Anna was wrapping Mikan's head with bandages and gauze, but she...well, she got a little out of hand, and kept wrapping until the bandages covered Mikan's nose and mouth.

"But there was a cut on her cheek!"

"Nevermind a cut_—_she's gonna DIE."

Anna quickly undid the bandages and apologized to a gasping Mikan.

"So let me get this straight," Kitsu stated. "Mikan here was chasing Youichi for whatever reason, so she ran through a forest and climbed a tree, then jumped though the window onto Natsume's desk and slipped on Natsume's pencil, which caused her to have this severe head injury_—"_

"So it was _your_ fault," Mikan accused, pointing at Natsume.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I slipped on _your_ stupid pencil, so it's _your_ fault that I look like a friggin' mummy."

"_You_ jumped through the damn window and slipped on my pencil, so it's _your_ damn fault."

Koko held up his hands to silence the two. Then he carried a reluctant Youichi over and dropped him next to Mikan on the infirmary bed. Youichi scrambled up at once and crawled back to Natsume.

"Okay, that was pointless," Koko shrugged. "So, Youichi, my boy, what did you take from dear Mikan over there?"

Youichi puffed up his cheeks and turned away, arms crossed stubbornly. Koko gave Natsume a look.

"Do something, dude."

Natsume sighed like he would rather be anywhere else than here and rustled Youichi's silver hair gently.

"Youichi, talk."

Youichi's cheeks slowly unpuffed and he looked up at Natsume, pouting.

"Natsume-nii, you're gonna stay on my side, right?"

"Talk first."

The little boy huffed and pointed an accusing finger at Mikan.

"That hag over there stole my necklace."

Mikan's mouth dropped wide open. Sumire snorted.

"Oh, Youichi, that's not a very nice thing to say," Koko scolded.

"Time out, TIME OUT." Mikan slammed her hand on the infirmary bed, which made a pretty loud sound for a soft mattress. "_I_ did not steal anything. _You're_ the one who ripped the necklace off my neck, midget."

"You probably picked it up off the ground and thought it was pretty, so you decided to keep it!" Youichi retorted hotly.

"_Ahem_, unlike you, I don't do finders keepers," Mikan shot back fiercely.

Could a little kid really be this irritating?

"Okay, okay," Koko stepped between the two and smiled cheerily. "First, let's see this necklace you're talking about."

Mikan looked expectantly at Youichi, who glared back at her and didn't raise a finger.

"Youichi, take it out," Natsume ordered indifferently.

Youichi frowned and grumbled but reluctantly fished the cross out of his pocket.

"What, are you his daddy or something?" Mikan snickered. "How come he only listens to you?"

"Shut up, hag."

Mikan crossed her arms and put on a grumpy face. Natsume studied the necklace, turning it around in his fingers.

"This is Youichi's," he announced after a while.

Mikan immediately grabbed a pillow and threw it at his stupid head.

"_That_ is_ my_ necklace! I don't know why the_ hell _you think it's his, but I'm telling you, I've been wearing that necklace _every single fucking _day since my fifth birthday!"

Then she clamped her hand over her mouth, because, as brash as she was, Mikan didn't want to corrupt little kids.

"Um...don't say that word, okay?" she whispered to Youichi, ignoring a pissed off Natsume.

"What word? The _'F'_ word?" Youichi sneered. "I already know it."

Mikan rolled her eyes. Faker.

"No you don't."

"Yes I do."

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"Stop pretending."

"I'm not."

A growl of frustration.

"Then what does it MEAN, huh?"

"Okaaaaay, stop right there," Koko motioned for silence once again. "We'll not delve any further into these dirty matters. Let us resolve this conflict without any verbal harassment."

Mikan smacked his shoulder.

"Stop trying to sound sophisticated. It creeps me out."

Then she let out a heavy breath and studied Youichi, who clutched the necklace fiercely, glaring daggers at her. It probably resembled something very important to him. Mikan knew that he wasn't doing this without reason.

And really, what did the necklace mean to her? Besides giving her painful memories from a past that she wanted to forget, it meant absolutely nothing. Maybe it was best if she just let it go.

"Fine. Brat, you can have the stupid necklace."

"What?" Anna tilted her head, confused. "But_—_Mikan—isn't that supposed to be your very important necklace?"

"Not anymore," Mikan replied flatly. "I don't want it anymore."

"Uh, no, it's okay," Ruka smiled nervously. "You don't have to do that." Then he went over to Youichi and hissed, "Youichi, give back Mikan's necklace."

"Why? She told me I could have it," Youichi refused. "And_—_and it was mine in the first place!"

"Youichi!" Ruka demanded louder.

"No, seriously, let him have it." Mikan felt her cheek and ripped off the band aid there_—_she hated band aids_—_resulting in a horrified shriek from Anna. "I really _really_ don't want it anymore. It's useless to me now."

"For real?" Sumire looked at her strangely. "Even though_—_"

"For real," Mikan confirmed, nodding.

Sumire raised an eyebrow, but she didn't say anything else. Hotaru, on the other hand, knew exactly why Mikan was doing this. After all, she had been there when Mikan had gotten the necklace from her mother as her fifth birthday present.

"C'mon, we're leaving," Hotaru announced softly as she started walking toward the door.

"Wait!"

Anna quickly grabbed another band aid and literally slapped it onto Mikan_—_on the wrong cheek. Despite this, she nodded smugly, then bounced after Hotaru. Mikan frowned at her retreating figure and rubbed her stinging cheek.

God, why did so many people like harassing her?

Sighing, the brunette stretched and stood up smoothly, examining her bandaged arms and legs. Well, this was definitely going to draw attention. But if she took the bandages off, Anna was gonna murder her for sure.

"I look like a delinquent."

Nonoko, who was still there, snorted.

"You _are_ a delinquent, Mikan."

"...good point."

Then Mikan strode over to Youichi, who immediately clung onto Natsume's arm.

"You." She pulled at his cheek, causing him to make loud, whiny noises. "Take care of the necklace, okay?"

Youichi finally shoved her hand away and gave her a death glare.

"I know that already, hag!"

Mikan smirked and rustled his hair until it was all messed up, resulting in another series of animal sounds from him.

"Grow up, midget."

Then she turned around and started walking toward the infirmary door.

That is, until something soft and heavy hit the back of her head.

A pillow.

"When you throw a pillow at _the_ Natsume Hyuuga_—_" Natsume smirked, crimson eyes provoking, "_—_you get a pillow back."

Mikan didn't move for a long, long time. Sumire and Nonoko both shook their heads, pitying the naive guy. Be it sock bombs, pillows, or cotton balls_—_you hit Mikan Sakura in the head, you're dead meat. Finally, Mikan slowly turned around and picked up the pillow. Her amber eyes were now a dark, deadly brown and a dangerous smile was twitching on her lips.

"Oh yeah? You wanna die, moron?"

At that moment, both Sumire and Nonoko decided that they didn't want any casualties on their first day at the academy. That would definitely look bad on their records.

"Okay, Mikan, let's go _now._"

They wrenched the pillow from Mikan's hands and hurriedly pushed the protesting girl out the door. Before any of the guys could react, the door clicked shut, and just like that, the girls were gone. Heavy silence engulfed the room. The sudden quiet was deafening.

"Well, that was...interesting," Yuu commented thoughtfully as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"_Interesting_?" Koko exclaimed. "That was _great_! I say we all ask the girls' out tomorrow. Get them before they're taken, y'know?"

"We just met them, you douchebag," Kitsu grumbled. "Besides, who would you ask?"

"Hmm..." Koko wondered. "Actually, I dunno! But you would totally go for Nonoko, wouldn't you?"

"Shut your piehole."

Koko smiled slyly and poked his brother in the arm.

"You _would_, wouldn't you? Aww, Kitsu's _blushing_!"

"Shut _up_ before punch you."

The boyish grin lingered on Koko's face as he backed away and turned to the others.

"So, what about you guys?"

Ruka sighed. "Dude, we just met them. And they hardly know us."

"Besides," Yuu added, "the chances of us meeting them again is very thin. Classes here are extremely busy, especially for newcomers."

Koko pouted, disappointed. "Aww, you guys are no fun."

Then he lit up like a lightbulb.

"But Mikan—you gotta admit that Mikan's totally cut out for Natsume! There's no one better!"

All eyes turned to the said guy—this was the one thing that everybody actually agreed on. There was a moment of silence. Then Youichi spoke up.

"The old hag? No way! Natsume-nii's _way_ too cool for her!"

"Youichi, Youichi, don't add hot air to Natsume's head," Koko chided, tsking disapprovingly. "He's got too much already. It's not good for him."

"Hey, don't insult Natsume-nii!" Youichi retorted angrily. "He's waaaaay cooler than you'll ever be!"

Koko gasped in exaggerated shock while Kitsu sniggered.

"That's not nice, Youichi..."

Meanwhile, Natsume stared at the silver necklace in his palm. Youichi had told him to hold onto it because the clasp was broken and he trusted Natsume's pockets more than his own.

Or something like that.

But the necklace was definitely Youichi's—no doubt about it. The kid had worn it every day since his mother had given it to him for his fifth birthday. The style of the cross, the pattern of the chain, the design, everything was exactly as Natsume had remembered it. But Mikan didn't seem like the kind of person who would lie about something like this. No_—_Natsume knew that she wasn't lying. So what the hell?

Natsume turned to gaze through the infirmary window at the cloud-dotted afternoon sky, lost in his thoughts.

_What a strange, strange, girl..._

* * *

**All done! **

**So, this chappie was probably really boring considering the long LONG wait you guys had to endure for it. **

**But everything that's happened in this chappie is vital to the plot of the fanfic, so I had to include it somehow.**

**I promise they will dance in the next chappie.**

**Natsume's character is gonna be a bit different, or a lot, I'm not quite sure yet. But I don't want to _exactly_ follow the sexy, bad-boy, cliche personality that he always has. You'll get a lot more of him in the next chappie *wink* *wink***

**Again, I'm gonna try my best to update, but I can't really set a deadline for you guys. I don't wanna lie to you again. But I WILL try my best! Yosh!**

**And of course, if there was anything you didn't like or you were confused about or you want to critique in this chappie, don't hesitate! I love reading ALL reviews!**

**-momocandy XD**


	3. Encounters

**Yes, finally there's a new chapter of Circus!**

**I'm sorry I took so long yet again...school's been a monster...**

**but for now, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Happy Reading!**

* * *

**Circus**

**by: momocandy**

**Chapter 3 - Encounters**

**XXX**

"Oh looky, it's the Main Office!" Anna exclaimed as she pointed to a sign above a transparent glass door.

The girls had just stepped out of the infirmary to discover that the Main Office for this building was only two doors next to it.

"Finally something goes right today," Nonoko muttered gloomily.

"Aw, don't be that way, Noko!" Anna patted her twin on the back with a cheerful smile. "Think of the glass not half empty but half full! My pet peeve!"

"Not everyone can be as optimistic as you, Anna," Nonoko grumbled. "Not me, for sure."

A bell tinkled as the girls pushed open the door. A busy-looking old lady with blonde hair and jeweled spectacles looked up impatiently from a pile of papers on her desk. Mikan couldn't help but cringe at the sight of her multi-colored makeup coordination.

"Yes? May I help you?"

Sumire tilted her head to the side and put her finger on her chin as she scrutinized the woman. The words came out before anyone could stop her.

"Miss, I think you should lay off a little on the pizzazz. You kinda look like a demented clown_—__"_

Mikan flinched and immediately shoved Sumire behind her, laughing loudly in attempt to drown out the greenette's last words. "AHAHAHAHA, don't mind her, she's just got a few screws loose in her noggin'..." Mikan dug her heel down hard into Sumire's foot to keep her from saying anything more.

"So, um, we're new students here, and we can't find our uniforms," Anna continued hastily. "Do you know where we should look?"

Mikan held her breath as the woman peered at them through her glasses and frowned. After forever of tense, heavy silence, the lady finally pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed reluctantly.

"Alright, just tell me your building and dorm number."

Mikan exhaled in relief and felt her muscles relax. She obediently gave the necessary info.

"The high-school division, huh?" The lady took out a file from a filing cabinet and thumbed through some papers. Towards the middle of the pile, she paused, her eyes flitting across the document. "Its says here that the high-school uniforms are in a closet in the bathroom. Did you check there, by any chance?"

The girls looked at each other.

"You were supposed to look in the bathroom, Sumire," Mikan accused flatly.

"Uh, no, that was Noko's job," Sumire countered.

"S'cuse me, I was checking the bedrooms with Mikan!" Nonoko retorted hotly. "Wasn't Anna_—"_

_"I_ was in charge of searching through the livingroom!" her twin squeaked.

There was a pregnant pause, and then the four of them gasped and came to the same conclusion.

"Hotaru!"

Their heads whipped in unison to the amethyst-eyed gal, who, as they watched, just shrugged and started eating a pack of sunflower seeds.

"_Hotaru—" _Sumire began before a loud 'ahem' made the girls turn their attention to the blonde lady, who was tapping her tapping her foot impatiently on the carpeted floor.

"If you're done here, can you please leave? You're bothering the staff and workers," she commented dryly.

Mikan looked around and saw that, indeed, the other people in the office were pausing their work to stare inquisitively at them.

"Oops, sorry!" Mikan quickly shoved the other girls out the door, almost banging Sumire's head on the door frame in the process. "We'll leave now! Thank you for your help, miss!"

And then the door closed behind them, cutting off their voices.

The blonde lady sighed and put her hand on her head wearily. Dear God, how rude children were these days. She only let those obnoxious girls go because they were the new students. The Tokyo Alice Academy of Dance didn't admit new students every day, and rarely five at once. Despite the strict old woman she was, she still didn't want to see their efforts go to waste in detention.

Well, at least she had her peace and quiet now.

She happened to glance up at the other staff members and saw that some of them were still staring at the door.

"What are you doing?" she barked. "Get back to work!"

They flinched in surprise and hurriedly obeyed.

* * *

As soon as they were out in the hallway, Mikan gave Sumire a good, hard whack on the head.

"Ow! What the fuck_—"_

_"_We're not on the streets anymore, blockhead," the brunette scowled. "You almost got us all screwed back there. Use a filter when you talk, dammit."

Sumire frowned grumpily as she rubbed her head.

"Are you telling me to _think_ before I say something? Bullshit. _You_ can't even do that."

Mikan crossed her arms and averted her eyes, unable to deny that statement. "Well, at least I _try_ to. Just don't get yourself into trouble. Like, keep conversations PG with adults."

Sumire didn't seem all too pleased with that, but she grunted nevertheless as a sign that she understood.

"Anyways_—_" Nonoko cut in as she threw a pointed look at the girl cracking sunflower seeds like a robot, "_—_since _someone_ didn't do her job correctly, we're going to have to go back to our dorm to get our uniforms, right?"

"Oh, hell no," Sumire groaned. "Not the forest again."

"So much for seeing the glass half full, huh?" Nonoko rolled her eyes at Anna.

"But look at the bright side!" Anna protested, trying for a smile. "At least we'll get to_—"_

"No, Anna, just _no_," Nonoko interrupted her, pinching the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "There is no 'bright' side here. We have the worst fucking luck possible. Period."

"So pessimistic," Anna pouted disapprovingly. "Sometimes I can't believe you're my _twin_."

"The feeling's mutual, sister."

At that moment, Mikan noticed a golden plaque right next to the main office door that said 'Building C'. She blinked and checked the post-it that her uncle had given her.

_Building C, Room 12-A._

Their classroom.

"Well, damn it all," she said out loud.

The other girls turned to look at her curiously. Mikan just showed them the post-it.

"We'll be visiting our dear classmates first."

* * *

"Mikan, I thought we were supposed to avoid trouble whenever possible?" Anna poked urgently at her friend as they walked down the hallway.

"We _are_," she replied bluntly.

"But we're not wearing our uniforms right now."

"So?"

"That's a violation of the rules."

"Look, I'm _positive_ our teacher will understand if we just explain it to him," Mikan dismissed with a careless wave of her hand. "We're new students anyway. They can't expect us to know _all_ of the rules."

Anna gave up. She knew well enough that when Mikan had her mind set on something, she wasn't changing it, no matter what. The forest must really bring back horrid memories for her if she went_ that_ far to avoid it.

"Mikan, if _you_ end up bringing us a shitload of trouble, I'm gonna send you flying," Sumire threatened.

"Do whatever you want," Mikan answered indifferently as she plowed down the hall.

The girls walked in silence for a few seconds. Then Nonoko spoke up.

"Hey, Mikan, do you have any idea where you're going?" she asked skeptically.

"Of course I do," Mikan reassured them.

The girls watched as the brunette stopped and exchanged a few words with a random passerby, then turned on her heel and walked straight back the way she came from.

"Uh-huh, she _totally_ knows where she's going," Nonoko mumbled sarcastically as she followed.

"But at least she got the directions quick and easy this time!" Anna smiled brightly beside her.

The bluenette groaned and covered her ears.

"Ugh, more happy talk."

"_Nonoko!_"

Finally, the girls reached a closed mahogany door. The label on the frame read _12-A. _For some reason, the door looked kind of familiar.

"Well, here we are," Mikan breathed out with finality. "Our classroom."

The girls glanced at each other.

"Alright, let's give them a good first impression," Mikan declared with a determined fist.

"First impression, huh?" Nonoko raised an eyebrow as she looked down at their shirts and shorts and Mikan's mummy bandages. "Yeah...totally."

"Now," Anna directed, raising an authoritative finger, "let's take this nice and slowly_—"_

Sumire stepped up and karate-kicked the door open.

Silence.

"Okay, nevermind," Anna sighed.

Mikan gave Sumire yet another hard whack on the head and hissed, "You idiot! What the hell are you doing?"

"_Opening_ the damn _door,_" Sumire growled viciously, started to get very pissed at Mikan's way of inflicting injury upon her.

"You open the door with your fucking _hands_, not your _feet_."

"Does it really fucking _matter_?"

"_Here_, yes, it fucking _does__—_"

Mikan broke off as Anna hurriedly pushed her and Sumire into the room. The two resorted to arguing through glares.

"Oh? What do we have here?"

Mikan froze and blinked. That voice was strangely familiar...

She broke her glaring contest with Sumire to glance in the direction of the voice, and her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"You're that teacher from before!"

The young blonde man, who, Mikan noticed, looked quite striking in his frilly shirt and leggings, smiled cheerfully back at her as if he was not at all surprised that Sumire just practically broke down his door.

"Welcome, welcome! Are you the new students?"

Mikan nodded slowly and silently thanked God for giving them a weird homeroom teacher. But it was no wonder the door looked familiar. They were in the same classroom as before.

Wow, lucky.

The students were whispering and staring at them with intrigued and curious faces.

Well, at least she wouldn't have to explain the bandages. The first impression thing was totally off though_—_not that it really mattered.

Her eyes subconsciously wandered amongst the students and halted when she found a familiar face.

Or more like _five_ familiar faces.

Mikan's amber eyes twinkled with mischief. They were all going to be in the same class, huh? Brilliant. Now she had something to look forward to every day.

"Did you go to your dorm yet?"

Mikan said she did without looking back at their blonde teacher.

"You couldn't find your uniforms?"

Now she turned to him and quirked an eyebrow. He just smiled knowingly.

"Uh...yeah..."

"Do you know where they are now?"

"...yeah."

A few of the students snickered. Sumire immediately shot them a death glare and snapped habitually.

"Shut the fuck up you_—"_

BAM.

Mikan brought her foot down hard on the greenette's toes, veins popping in her head, and Sumire was unable to finish her sentence as a yelp of pain escaped her lips.

"Okay, just remember to wear them tomorrow, alright?" the blonde teacher chirped with a jovial smile as if Sumire had _not_ just cursed in front of him and all of his students.

Mikan gave him another funny look. Don't get her wrong, she liked this teacher, but she couldn't help but feel that he was just a teensy bit too easy-going.

"My name is Narumi Anju," the blonde informed them, his smile never faltering. "I'll be your homeroom teacher starting today, as well as your language arts teacher and dance instructor. Why don't you introduce yourselves to the class?"

The girls did so without any major difficulties, much to their relief. Mikan was glad she didn't stumble on her name this time.

"Now then, you five can sit right over there in that empty row next to the window," Narumi-sensei directed.

There was only one empty row in the class, and it was the one that Mikan had fallen into before. A.k.a the row right under those guys. Mikan smirked.

As the five girls ascended the steps to their row, they could hear the other students buzzing around them, stealing glances at Mikan in particular. But Mikan held her head high. She'd always been reckless, and starting her reputation as the girl who jumped through the window on the ten-something floor was something she should and would be proud of. Except that it drew attention. But she could live with it.

Finally, the girls reached the empty row. Naturally, Mikan shot a glare at Natsume before plopping down in front of him.

She had calmed down from the pillow incident already, but she was still peeved. Yes, yes, she would get her revenge soon.

"Okay, class, self-study period!" Narumi announced. "Make sure you look through all of your notes carefully!" And with that, he waltzed out of the room.

Mikan stared after him in puzzled disbelief. How much more was this teacher going to surprise her?

"Where's he going?" she wondered aloud.

"Oh, he always does that," Ruka spoke up behind her. "When it's self-study period, he just leaves and doesn't come back 'til it's over. Nobody actually studies though."

Mikan wondered momentarily if her uncle knew about this. Not that she was gonna tell him or anything.

"Oh, nice seeing you again, by the way."

Mikan turned around and smiled at the blonde boy.

"Same."

"And here you were saying that we wouldn't be able to see them again!" Koko grinned a wolfish grin as he smacked Yuu on the back. "They're sitting right under us, dude!"

Yuu scowled and pushed up his glasses. "First of all, I never said that we _wouldn't_ be able to see them again_—_I said that the chances were_ thin._" Then he glanced at the girls. "But I have to say, I definitely wasn't expecting you five to be in the same class as us."

"What, you guys wanted to see us that bad?" Sumire snickered, turning around and propping her feet up on the desk where Koko was sitting.

"Well duh! We're like, best friends now!" Koko pouted indignantly.

Nonoko raised her eyebrows and snorted, amused.

"We just met this morning, you creep."

Kitsu elbowed his twin in the gut, all glares.

"See, what did I tell you?" he hissed.

"Awwww, Kitshu's getting embawassed..." Koko cooed in a baby voice.

"Shut _UP_!"

The two proceeded to engage in an intense bro-to-bro tackle. Mikan watched them for a while before getting bored and turning to Natsume.

"So, where's the little brat?" she asked him, leaning back against her desk. "Back in his class like a good little boy?"

Natsume shrugged absentmindedly. "Maybe."

"_Maybe?_"

"Who knows, he could be in the halls again terrorizing some other girl."

"Say _what_?"

Ruka chuckled at the half-amused, half-incredulous look on Mikan's face.

"Don't worry about Youichi," he assured her. "Everyone's used to him already. But while we're on that, are you seriously okay with giving him your necklace? Because you seemed pretty defensive about it before, and_—"_

"Ugh," Mikan groaned loudly, interrupting him. "Not this again."

She stood and placed her hands on Ruka's desk, causing him to blink and tilt his head up at her.

"Look, I really _really_ don't want the necklace anymore, so just shush and let the brat have it. Even if you ever gave it back, I would just toss it, because it's nothing but crap to me now. End of discussion."

Ruka let out a laugh and raised his hands up in defeat. "Fine, fine. I won't ask anymore."

Mikan exhaled in satisfaction and sat back down.

"Well," Sumire announced suddenly, "I got no sleep last night because of the stupid plane, so I'm gonna make up for that now. G'night, people."

With that said, she put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.

After a while, Koko started to stare at the black and green Osiris high-tops on his desk in thoughtful silence. Mikan noticed this and knew at once that a prankster's brain was at work. Indeed, moments later, Koko's chocolate brown eyes gleamed with mischief and he slowly took off one of Sumire's shoes. Said girl did not stir. Placing the shoe gently on the table, Koko started inching his hands toward Sumire's exposed foot. Mikan sighed, wondering if she should stop him now. Then, with a delighted 'HA!', he went and tickled her foot like there was no tomorrow.

But Mikan just shook her head pitifully. Poor Koko...

Because Sumire's feet weren't ticklish.

With an annoyed grunt, Sumire swung her other foot up and kicked Koko right in the face.

"OW!"

Everyone else burst into laughter as Koko jerked back and clamped a hand over his nose in agony.

"You touch my feet again, you die," Sumire threatened, her eyes still closed. "Now put my shoe back on."

Koko dutifully obeyed.

As Mikan saw him start to tuck Sumire's shoe very carefully back onto her foot, an idea suddenly hit her. And although it wasn't a prank, it was born from the bold, mischievous mind of an expert prankster. And unlike Koko, she would make it work. She bent down and took off one of her own Nikes, then stole a quick glance at Natsume, who was currently staring blankly out the window as if he was the most bored person on Earth.

Well, he wasn't going to be bored much longer.

Mikan smirked, took aim, and fired.

BAM.

Right in the face.

"That was for the pillow," she smiled smugly as an extremely pissed-off Natsume slowly turned to glare at her, his cheek reddening from the impact of the big, rubber-soled shoe.

Koko wolf-whistled and Kitsu grinned at Mikan. Yes, they understood her. It was simple really, something that anyone could do if asked. Throw a shoe? Pssh, why not? But you had to have the guts and the creativity to come up with such a plot and carry it out to the very end. That was the teachings of a true prankster.

Mikan raised an eyebrow as Natsume slowly undid his own shoe. So he was gonna fight back, huh?

"You asked for this, bitch."

And he threw it.

Mikan dodged it effortlessly and it sailed past her, hitting Nonoko.

Natsume cursed. Kitsu gaped.

Nonoko bristled for revenge.

She took off her own shoe.

She threw it at Natsume.

Natsume dodged and it hit the open-mouthed Kitsu.

But there was no way Kitsu was going to throw a shoe at _Nonoko_, so he just picked it up and tossed it back to her.

He miscalculated and it landed on the sleeping Sumire.

Who soon was not sleeping anymore.

Mega pissed, half-awake Sumire ripped off the shoe that Koko had just finished putting on her foot and threw it blindly like a madwoman.

It hit Hotaru.

.

.

.

Shit.

Both Anna and Yuu were frantically trying to keep the peace, but to no avail. The bomb had been dropped, war had been declared, and nobody was backing down.

* * *

Narumi Anju returned to his classroom only to find his students yelling and screaming and shrieking in the midst of a raging shoe storm. A second later, a shoe hit him right in his face. But his jolly smile didn't not waver. In fact, it grew wider.

Oh, the beauty of youth...

Finally, the blonde teacher cleared his throat loudly and made himself present.

Everyone immediately froze, and all of the suspended shoes dropped to the ground.

"Well, my children, I hope you have all studied well this period! In five minutes, please head down to the dance gym. I'll see you there! Adios!"

And without another word, he once again waltzed out of the room.

There was absolute silence for five seconds.

Then everybody jumped up as if electrified, and thus commenced the epic scramble for shoes.

Mikan and the other girls were luckier_—_they had been smart enough to sacrifice only one shoe for the war, and finished their shoe search faster. Others, however, not so much. Some people even lost both of their socks, as they had foolishly morphed the socks into sock bombs and had thrown them to who-knows-where.

But, miraculously, when Narumi checked the attendence five minutes later in the dance gym, every student was present. He did note that most of them were frazzled and out of breath, and he couldn't help but smile when he thought of all the effort his children put in to make him happy.

"We're all here!" Narumi chirped as clicked his pen. "Alright, let's begin our stretches!"

The students started their daily routine of splitting up into pairs. Then Narumi suddenly gasped.

"Wait!"

Everyone stopped moving and glanced questioningly at their teacher.

"We have new students here today, remember?"

Mikan and the girls blinked.

Narumi gestured for them to come to the front and explained, "It's a tradition in the academy to let new students dance for us their first day here, as an introduction for their teachers and classmates! That way we can get to know each other better! Oh, but can you dance with those injuries of yours?"

Mikan looked down at her bandages and flexed her arms and legs. They didn't hurt.

"Yep, no prob."

At this, Anna squealed and grabbed Nonoko's arm in giddy excitement.

"Ohmigod, we get to dance already! Isn't that great?"

Nonoko only smiled, but inside, she was just as excited.

"Are you five a group?" the blonde teacher inquired.

Mikan nodded. "Yup."

"Perfect! Here, you can choose whatever song you like." He handed her an iPhone, then turned to the other students. "The rest of you stand off to the side so they can have more room."

There was a shuffling of feet as the students did what they were told. Some were actually pretty eager to see what kind of dance these girls would perform. They were, after all, _much_ more different than any other new students that had came before to that school.

Mikan stared at the empty search box on YouTube. She glanced at the other girls.

"You guys want_ that_ song?"

Sumire went and flicked her forehead, resulting in a sharp 'ow!' from the brunette.

"Duh, you dumbass. That's the one we're most proud of."

Anna started jumping up and down like someone hyped up on coffee, unable to contain her excitement.

"Ohmigod, this is just like our debut!"

Nonoko full out grinned this time. "Let's blow them away!"

Hotaru said nothing, but even Mikan could see the enthusiasm in her amethyst eyes. After all, Hotaru loved dancing just as much as they did.

She quickly typed in the name of the song, and as YouTube loaded, her eyes skimmed over the audience. As soon as she met Natsume's crimson eyes, her lips curved into a challenging smirk. She didn't know what kind of dance Natsume did or how good he was at it, but she sure wasn't planning on losing to him. She was gonna show him some top-notch skills right then and there.

"Alright, people!" Mikan shouted, pumped up and rushing with adrenaline.

This was the first time they had ever performed before such a large audience. She was going to make it something to remember.

"Let's get this thing started! Here's Circus, by Britney Spears!"

* * *

Crazy.

Absolutely _insane._

Natsume couldn't take his eyes off of the girls as they danced their hearts out.

Nobody could.

They completely drew their audience in. The music boomed in the background, and their bodies hit all the moves at precisely the right beat. The footwork was flawless. They did drops and power moves and head spins and backflips along with a whole variety of hip-hop moves that they alternated between, dancing individually yet miraculously keeping in sync with the others. Their feet never stayed on the ground for more than five seconds. It looked as if they were defying gravity itself.

Even though there were no lights or special effects, every person in the gym felt as if they had been whisked off to a professional dance club. And most of all, all five girls were smiling and laughing and having the time of their lives. They danced with such vigor and freedom that everyone could only stare, entranced.

Suddenly, five guys felt their body temperatures rise and their faces warm. Ruka put a tentative hand to his cheek and jerked it back at once in surprise. His skin was fiery hot. His hand traveled to his chest, and he realized that his heart was pounding irregularly fast. He had never felt this way before. What the hell was happening to him? He tried to pry his eyes away from the girls_, _but couldn't, and only hoped that the others were feeling this way too.

The cheering started about twenty seconds into the dance. By the middle, the gym was reverberating with noise.

Finally, the music stopped, droplets of sweat flew, and the girls topped it all off in a freeze. Mikan, by far, had the most difficult pose_—_the pike freeze. It had taken her quite a while to get it down, plus all the suffering and pain she had to endure for it, but now, using it in front of all these people, she knew it had been worth it.

Everyone fell silent for a moment, admiring the five sweaty girls that had taken their breaths away. The five guys immediately felt their body temperatures and heart rates return to normal, as if someone had flipped an 'off' switch.

Then there was a deafening roar as the gym erupted into whoops and whistles and applause.

The girls relaxed from their freezes and stood up straight, wiping the sweat from their faces with the back of their hands.

"How was that, people?" Mikan yelled, despite her heavy panting.

She was answered by cheers.

"Remember us alright? The name's Circus! We're aiming for the top, and one day, we're gonna be famous all over the world!"

More noise.

Mikan watched breathlessly as the students flocked around her and the other girls, asking questions and thumping them on the back and gushing compliments. She didn't have the breath to say anything more, but a huge grin was plastered on her face. It was at that moment that she knew that coming to the academy was the right choice. Now, for the first time ever, she felt that maybe her dream wasn't so impossible after all.

* * *

"What an exciting performance!" Narumi exclaimed after everyone had settled down. "Where did you girls learn how to dance?"

"The street," Mikan answered simply.

"The street?" Narumi echoed in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"We mean the _street_," Mikan repeated, emphasizing the word. "Don't you dare go underestimating us street dancers. If you thought _we_ were amazing, then we've got a whole bunch of people back in the city that could enter this academy no sweat. Like the people who taught us, for instance," she added, thinking back to Akira and the guys.

"Oh, how interesting..." Narumi mused. "Street dancing...no wonder I couldn't pinpoint your dancing style."

"Yep," Sumire nodded, popping the 'p'. "That's the cool thing about street dancers. We can do whatever we want and nobody gives a damn."

Anna smacked her lightly on the arm. "What she means is, street dancers are completely free-style, so there's no limits to creativity and invention. That's why our dances are usually a mix of a whole bunch of things."

"Like a circus," Mikan pointed out. "Our group name."

Narumi made an 'o' with his mouth. Then, just for clarification, he asked, "You've never had any genuine dance lessons before?"

Hotaru and Mikan unconsciously tensed.

"Uh...not exactly," Mikan replied , faltering slightly. "Nope."

Unlike the other girls, she and Hotaru _did_ have dance lessons before, but those had been a long _long_ time ago and had_ nothing_ to do with street dancing.

Her hesitation did not go unnoticed by the unexpectedly observant teacher.

"We learned all the moves by ourselves and from our friends," Nonoko continued quickly, glancing at Hotaru and Mikan. "Like Mikan said before, the people who taught us could've easily gotten into this academy. They just didn't have the money."

"And you did?"

The girls immediately stiffened and Nonoko realized her stupid mistake.

Shit. They were in the red zone.

"Well, we had our...circumstances," Mikan tried to keep her voice steady, hoping she sounded convincing.

She knew she didn't do a very good job of it.

Meanwhile, Narumi studied the girls intently, a hand on his chin. Then, just when they were sure he was going to call them out, he broke into a sudden smile.

"Alright, alright, let's stop talking about this serious stuff. You're new students after all! Can't have you feeling uncomfortable, can we?"

Mikan felt her entire body relax, but she caught herself before a sigh of relief could escape her lips. That would be too suspicious.

"Well, just so you know, you five are the first street dancers we have ever accepted into the academy!" Narumi congratulated. "I'm sure all of us look forward to getting to know you better!"

Mikan just nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Sumire saved her by draping an arm around her and Nonoko, grinning boyishly.

"Hear that, girls? We're _special_."

Mikan couldn't help but smirk. Leave it to Sumire to be all egotistical at the first chance she got.

"However_—_" Narumi added thoughtfully, "_—_if you would like to meet people with similar interests, you might want to have a chat with Natsume and his group."

Mikan's head swiveled to the five boys, and she raised an eyebrow.

Similar interests?

"Anyways_—_" The blonde teacher raised his voice. "_—_children,_ s_how's over! Time to find a partner and start stretching!"

The students obediently split into pairs, though all of them were still chatting energetically about the girls' performance.

"That was _amazing_!" Ruka breathed as the guys walked up to the girls. "I never thought you five would be _this_ good!"

"You satisfied now, Natsume?" Koko wiggled his eyebrows as he gave said guy a playful shove.

Natsume smirked at Mikan, who smirked back, waiting for an answer.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Yep, he's satisfied," Koko nodded.

"So, what did Narumi mean by similar interests?" Mikan inquired curiously. "You guys do street dancing too?"

Natsume gave her a look.

"Narumi just said that you were the first street dancers ever accepted into this place, idiot. Are you deaf or something?"

Mikan felt a vein pop.

"We dance hip-hop though," Ruka pushed Natsume away, shooting him a pointed look. "Our group's called Supernova, by the way."

"Supernova..." Sumire mused. "Catchy. If it's hip-hop, you better show us sometime."

"We'll give a private performance if you let us into your dorm," Koko said with a crooked grin.

Kitsu, Yuu, and Ruka all blushed profusely and socked him in the stomach.

"Shut _up_, Koko," they hissed in unison.

"Then wouldn't it be better if we went to _your_ dorm?" Mikan suggested instead, totally not grasping the situation.

At this, the three guys went completely red in the face. Koko just laughed, clutching his tummy.

"Well, sure, if you want_—"__  
_

_"_HELL _NO_._" _

Ruka, Kitsu, and Yuu all grabbed hold of Koko's arms and dragged him away, each of them mumbling something under their breath.

Mikan stared after them for a while before shrugging.

"Whatever."

Then she turned around to get Hotaru and start stretching, only to find that her buds had already paired up without her.

Anna with Nonoko and Sumire with Hotaru.

Mikan's jaw fell slack and she rubbed her eyes and looked again. Sumire was with Hotaru.

Sumire was with HOTARU.

Mikan gaped in disbelief.

Oh my lord, the world was ending.

"Whatcha staring at?" the greenette snapped, shaking Mikan from her dumbfounded trance. "Go find a damn partner already. There's no one for you here."

Mikan opened her mouth and was just about to ask Sumire why the sudden change of heart when she decided against it. She had the feeling that Sumire was not in the mood to talk right now, seeing as she was being bent and pulled in all different places like a puppet under a deranged puppeteer. Hotaru really needed to understand that not everyone was as flexible as a rubber band.

Mikan sighed and gave her silent blessings to Sumire before she scanned the gym for people who still needed a partner. Only Natsume was standing. His buddies had already paired up with each other too_—_Koko with Kitsu and Ruka with Yuu. That just left him and her. Mikan frowned.

Oh, the disadvantages of having an odd-numbered group.

She walked back to the crimson-eyed boy and tapped his arm.

"Hey, let's stretch together."

Then she sat down and spread out her legs. Natsume just quirked an incredulous eyebrow at her.

"Hell no."

Mikan's eye twitched and she glared up at him.

"We're the only ones left, dumbass."

He looked away.

"Like I give a damn."

"I'm not getting in trouble on my first day here."

"Do you really think Narumi cares?"

"But I _want_ to stretch."

"Well, _I_ don't."

Mikan let out a strangled growl of frustration.

"Oh my god, is it that friggin' difficult? Just do it, sissy!"

Natsume scowled at her, then raised his foot and pushed it down hard on her back. Mikan yelped in surprise at the sudden pressure and facepalmed herself on the floor.

She came up screeching.

"That HURT, you damn bastard! What the hell was that? If I wasn't this flexible, you could've broken my spine or something!"

"But I didn't," the crimson-eyed boy replied indifferently.

"But you _could've_! Now use your hands!" Mikan demanded.

"You wanted to be my partner, so deal with it, _sissy_," he imitated her.

*pop* *pop*

That was the sound of her fuses snapping.

"You know, if this hadn't been my first day of school, I would've beaten the shit out of you already."

"You think you can beat _me_ up?" Natsume smirked like the big-headed, arrogant jerk he was.

Mikan clenched her fist and stood up abruptly, seconds away from smushing in his pretty face. Then she noticed that some of the other students had stopped stretching to stare at them curiously. She forced herself to calm down.

Think pie and rainbows. Think pie and rainbows.

"Alright, your turn," she offered with a fake, sugary smile.

Natsume felt a chill down his back and knew better than to sit down. Mikan waited for ten seconds. The guy still didn't move.

*POP* *POP*

Her smile twitched.

"Sit down, you bastard!" Mikan lifted her foot and kicked him in the back. Natsume stumbled forward in surprise, then turned around, completely and utterly pissed off now.

"You wanna go, bitch?"

Mikan knew she wasn't supposed to start fights, but there was no way in hell she was backing down from one.

"Bring it on, jerk."

With a battle cry, she jumped onto Natsume and they both fell to the floor, wrestling like little kids.

A crowd started to gather around the two. Sumire smirked as she saw Mikan completely engrossed in her fight with Natsume, totally unaware of all the commotion she was causing.

"They have such a great relationship, dontcha think?" she asked Hotaru with a snicker.

Hotaru responded by giving an insistent shove on the greenette's unyielding back, resulting in quite a few sickening cracks.

"OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW! DAMN YOU, YOU SADIST!"

And the screams of agony only became louder from there.

Despite the disturbance amongst his students, Narumi just smiled as he watched them with loving eyes.

Oh, the beauty of youth...

He let them go on like that for a while, savoring the moment, then finally clapped his hands loudly for attention. Mikan and Natsume instantly froze. Mikan was currently pulling at Natsume's cheek with one hand and yanking his hair with the other. Natsume was doing the same to her.

"If we're getting into trouble for this," Mikan hissed. "I will _murder_ you, you son of a bitch."

It irked her when Natsume didn't look troubled at all.

"I have an important announcement," Narumi continued. "This year the academy will once again be holding the Tokyo Dance-off Tournament!"

Hearing this, the students immediately broke out into fervent, excited whispers. Mikan perked up and released her grip on Natsume's cheek, listening carefully.

"As you all know, there will be a series of competitions throughout the year consisting of various challenges. Whichever individual or group wins the final tournament will get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become stars under the renowned idol agency, Sakura Studios! If you all still remember, the winners from last year were seniors Misaki Harada and Tsubasa Ando. Now they are currently on their tour in California, performing worldwide." Narumi stopped to wink suggestively at the students. "The first competition is in roughly a month and the topic will be posted down by the main office in three days! Best of luck to all who choose to participate!"

He paused, then added. "Now keep on stretching!"

But Mikan didn't move a muscle. Her eyes were as big as plates and her mouth was hanging wide open.

Misaki Harada, Tsubasa Ando, the miracle duo that had taken the world by storm, had been her role models ever since the debuted.

And the only thing that had been on her mind when she decided to change her last name to Sakura was the famous idol agency_, _Sakura Studios.

She couldn't believe this. What were the chances? Her dream was right here, right in this tournament. If she could win this, then she could have everything she ever wanted...

With a loud whoop, Mikan jumped up and punched her fist in the air, eyes full of fiery determination.

"THIS TOURNAMENT IS OURS, YOU HEAR?" she yelled. "YOU'RE ALL GOIN' DOOOOOOOWWWNNN!"

"There's our Mikan," Anna giggled.

"The idiot," Sumire shook her head and sighed.

Next to her, Natsume slowly sat up, rubbing his cheek. He stared at the confident brunette and couldn't help but smirk.

Well, if _she_ was going to be in the tournament this year, things were bound to get interesting.

Maybe he would participate in it too, for once.

Because Natsume Hyuuga, at the ripe age of sixteen, had finally found himself a worthy rival.

* * *

**Annnnnnnd...FINISHED!**

**OMG, I actually typed this whole chappie in a day! First time that's ever happened! I feel so proud!**

**Though I really shouldn't be, since it took me _months_ to update this fic...**

**but now summer's here, and i'm gonna try my best to update faster, which applies to my other stories as well!**

**I really really REALLY appreciate constructive criticism, so please do tell me your honest opinions about this chappie.**

**I know the whole tournament thing is kinda cliched, but I've always wanted to write a story with this kind of plot, so I'll make it as interesting as possible!**

**Thank you for all the support you guys have been giving me! **

**I love you all!**

**-momocandy XD**


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